The present invention relates to a door unit for selectively opening and closing the opening of an object having at least one open surface.
As a conventional door unit for opening and closing the opening of an object, a unit that can be employed in a center console of a vehicle, for example, for opening and closing the opening of a storage unit disposed therein is available. In the case wherein the layout does not permit the arrangement of a housing section for the door in the extension of the open surface of the center console due to a curved section that exists in the middle, a bendable slatted shutter is employed for the door.
Patent reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-90486
In the shutter described above, both side edges thereof are guided along the guide grooves disposed in the storage unit casing, and the shutter is formed of a synthetic resin material in a configuration that will enable the shutter to bend easily. In the case of creating a design surface for the shutter with a soft synthetic resin material, an uneven surface can be formed. By securing flexibility with concave sections and rigidity with convex sections, both good bending performance and rigidity can be achieved.
This, however, has a shortcoming of not easily allowing for an improvement to be made in the appearance, as the shape is restricted by the uneven design surface. In order to improve the design, a film, for example, can be pasted on the design surface. This, however, is not preferable because the film may be peeled off or distorted by the bending of the shutter.
The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a door unit to improve its the design flexibility.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.